Upholstery springing



M. HELLER 2,248,913

UPHOLSTERY snmere rma, Jury. 12.v 193s July .8, 1941.

Patented July s, 1941 1 UNITED STATES PATENT oFEl-CE Application July 12, 193s, serial No. 218,134 In Austria February 10, 1938 t 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a resilient support for seats of all kinds, chairs, settees and other articles of -furniture for seating and reclining purposes. According to the invention the support comprises a cushioning member extending from edge to edge of the seat or back of the chair-and a plurality of resilient pretensioned tensile members connected between rigid supports at the corners of said surface and the ends of the cushioning member for holding the latter in a floating position above the level of the chair frame, the said tensile members forming with the ends of said cushioning member freely oscillable edges on every side of the frame. Experience has shown that pretensoning of the tensile members is necessary if the full benefit of the resilient edges is to be obtained.

The invention further comprises various other features which will appear lfrom the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates the invention by way of example and in which:

Figs. 1-3 show in diagrammatic plan view, different forms of embodiment of a support according to the invention:

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a chair provided with supports according to the invention.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of a support suitable for a settee.

Referring to the drawing in which like'reference numerals denote like parts, the resilient support for upholstery comprises members a, b for example of fabric or metal extending over the whole breadth and depth of the upholstered surface and arranged in the form of a cross, these members being either placed loosely one upon the otheror firmly connected together over Fig. 4 which illustrates the application of the. support for'use in the back and seat of a chair.

The supports h -are provided on a framework f above the main members g so that the tensile members d form freely oscillable edges along and above all four sides of the upholstered surface and the cruciform body a, b is suspended in a iioating position above the main members g, each end c itself constituting a part of a freely oscillable edge.

The supports h raised above the main members g of the back of the chair consist of two arcuate leaf springs S disposed at an angle to each other, each being adapted to support one of the components of the load imposed upon the support.

Fig. 5 shows a larger support suitable for example for a settee and divided up into three parts with common intermediate supporting points. In the right-hand portion the members a, b are firmly connected together at the area K where they cross over each other, while in the left-hand portion the members a, b is made in one piece, the open portions w being traversed the area K where they cross and overlap. 'I'heA four ends c of these members are connected by means of pretensioned resilient tensile members d to four corners or supporting points h provided on the framework of the article of furniture.

The support shown in Fig. 2 is similar to that of Fig. 1 but further comprises diagonal members v also connected by resilient tensile members to the corners h of the framework.

Fig. 3 shows a support similar to Fig. 1 wherein' by resilient tensile members v. In the middle section the cross is made up of a plurality of strips or leaves p arranged. in lattice or grid formation.

The support according to the invention is simple and effective, being equally suitable for loose cushions or for fixed upholstery with resilient edges on all sides, since the ends of the cushioning member themselves constitute parts of' the resilient edges, and therefore strengthen the edges and prevent them from becoming laterally indented; a. further advantage of the structure is that in this manner there is obtained a strengthening or stiffening of the surface at the point where the elements of the cross overlap, i. e. at the centre of load, and which may also lie outside the center line of the seat or back. 'I'he degree of stiiening thus achieved at the centre `of load may vary according'to vthe invention, according to whether the elements forming the cross are connected together where they cross or merely lie loosely one above the other or one beneath the other.

Iclaim:

-1. A seating structure comprising a rigid support -frame having members at the cornersof the frame upstanding from the main portion thereof, a cushion support in the form of a cross spanning saidi support frame and of a size to vextend from edge to edge of said support frame plurality of resilient tensile members connecting said cushion support to said upstanding members' at the corners of said support frame, at least two of said tensile members being connected to each end of said cross-shaped cushion support and extending in opposite directions therefrom to corresponding upstanding corner members to form a resilient edge portion for said seating structure freely suspended above the level of the main portion of said support frame on eachside thereof.

2. A seating structure comprising a support frame having rigid corner parts, a cushion support spanning said support frame and of a size to extend from edge to edge of said support frame both laterally and longitudinally thereof and having at each edge of said support frame an edge substantially shorter than the corresponding support frame edge, and a plurality of resilient tensile members connected to said cushion support, means connecting said tensile members to said rigid corner parts of the frame and spacing the same from said frame, at least two of said tensile members being connected to each of said edges of said cushion support and 'extending in opposite directions therefrom to corresponding corner parts of said frame to form a resilient edge portion for said seating structure freely suspended at each side of said support frame.

3. A seating structure according to claim 1 in which said members at the cornersof the frame upstanding from the main portion thereof comprise angularly disposed arcuate leaf springs mountedat the corners of the support frame, the tensile members being tensioned and attached to said leaf springs.

MAXIMILIAN HELLER. 

